Assistance For Living

"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him or knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."
John 14:16-17 (NKJV)

Sometimes when people get older, or due to a medical condition, they will need help doing some everyday things.  What often happens is that a person will move into a place, or have someone else come to their home, to help them.  This type of care is called assisted living, because someone is helping another person do the necessary, everyday things of life.  If a person was in a situation where they needed assisted living, and that help was available, it would be good for that person to take advantage of the help that was there for them.

When Jesus was on the earth with His disciples, He was their leader, their teacher, and their guide.  Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples that while He would be going away, He would send them another Helper, referring to the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus said He was sending the Holy Spirit, another Helper, Jesus was saying that the Holy Spirit would bring the same kind of assistance that Jesus Himself had given to His disciples, not that the Holy Spirit would be something completely different.

The Holy Spirit has been sent to be our Helper in life.  The Holy Spirit will give us the same kind of assistance that Jesus gave to His disciples; the Holy Spirit will lead us, teach us, and guide us in life.  The Holy Spirit is not here to do everything for us, but to assist us.  The question is, are we cooperating with Him, are we allowing the Holy Spirit, our Helper, to assist us in our life, or are we trying to do everything on our own?  We need to learn to allow the Holy Spirit to help us and assist us, by following His direction and guidance in our life.

Do You Need To Change The Channel?

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."
Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

We have all had the experience of watching something on television and then deciding that we did not want to see what we were watching.  And we have all had the experience that when something like this happened that we simply changed the channel.  If we are watching some sports program and we want to watch the news, we just change the channel.  It is not some big thing to do, and we do not even give it any thought, we just change the channel from what we are currently watching to something that we want to see.

There are people who deal with things like anxiety, fear, and depression, things which are usually summed up as mental health issues.  But why do people have these things in their life?  Why are some people anxious, fearful, or depressed, and why is it some people are not anxious, afraid, or depressed?  When I have talked to people about these issues, sometimes people act as though they have nothing to do with those things, but when people have these problems in their life, in their thoughts, it is often because they are thinking about the wrong things.

Just like changing the channel on a television, if we are having the wrong kind of thoughts, we need to change what we are thinking about.  Sometimes people make it sound as though this is not possible, but it is possible, or the Bible would not tell us in Isaiah 26:3 that God will keep us in peace if our mind, our thinking is stayed, focused, on Him.  We need to know what the Bible says, and when wrong thoughts come, we need to change the channel to think about what God's Word says, instead of the negative and harmful thoughts we may have had before.

You Are That Disciple

"Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved."
John 13:23 (NKJV)

Sometimes parents have a child that they seem to favor more than their other children, which is not a good thing, but it does happen.  Sometimes a teacher will have a favorite student in their class, and that teacher will show favoritism towards that student.  Again, this is not good, but it does happen.  Other children and students, who are not treated as the favorite, normally resent it when special treatment is shown to someone else, but if they were that person who was treated as special, that can be a different story.

The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8), that God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to save us from our sin (John 3:16), and there are many other verses that talk about how much God loves us.  But, while this shows us that God is a loving God who shows His love to all, and that God has no favorites and does not show partiality towards anyone (Romans 2:11), it seems strange that in the Gospel of John that the Apostle John would refer to himself as the disciple Jesus loved.  How can this be correct?

In the Gospel of John, John refers to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved."  While that sounds like John thought that he was the only one that Jesus loved, by looking at the relationship that John had with Jesus, we can see that it is just that John understood how much Jesus loved him.  And this is not something that only John could say, we can say it too, because we are all the disciple that Jesus loves!  We need to know who we are in Christ, we need to understand how much God loves us, and know we too can say that we are the disciple that Jesus loves!

Getting On Course, And Staying On Course

"For we all stumble in many things.  If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.
Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.
Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.  See how great a forest a little fire kindles!"
James 2:2-5 (NKJV)

When you are traveling somewhere, you have some destination in mind.  When you start towards your destination, you might go straight ahead, or you might turn, but if you start on your journey by moving straight ahead, you normally do not just keep going straight ahead. Eventually you will probably need to turn to the right or the left to stay on your course.  While you may start well, if you do not stay on course, you will have problems and you will not reach your destination.

There are people that God has called to do something, and people who want to do what they see in God's Word, who do not succeed.  To be successful doing what God is directing us to do, specifically or from the general will of God in the Bible, we must realize that our words will steer us in the right direction, and our words will also help us stay on course.  We need to say what God has said in His Word, about ourselves and what God wants us to do, and we need to keep on saying those things.

In James 3, the tongue is compared to the rudder on a ship.  Our words set the course for our life, good or bad, and our words will help us to stay on course, and that can also be good or bad.  It is not that our words have some magical power, and by saying something we will make it happen, but the Bible is very clear that our words are extremely important.  By speaking God's Word, and continuing to say what God says, we can set, and maintain, the right course for our life.

Who Taught You That?

"But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.
For I neither received it from a man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Galatians 1:11-12 (NKJV)

In the different schools I have attended, I have been taught many things.  And not only have teachers in school taught me things, but I have also learned things from friends, from pastors, and various other people, in different settings, seminars, and conferences.  But, while what I learned and what someone taught me might sound good, was it true and accurate?  If someone was just giving me their opinion, and it was wrong, that would be bad.  For what I was taught to be good and helpful, it had to be true.

Once, as I was talking with a friend, they told me about something they said they were taught by a pastor, and this friend asked me what I thought about it.  My first reaction was that I did not think this idea was something that could be proven from the Bible, and I gave my friend some verses that I believed would be helpful, to show them the truth about the topic.  Later on, I had this thought, "Well, you had to be taught that by some pastor, because you certainly were not taught that from the Bible."

In Galatians 1:11-12, Paul said that he learned the Gospel message from God, not man; his source for what he believed was not just some man.  While God does work through people to teach us things, we must focus on what God is saying to us through these people and not on the people themselves.  Just because someone says something that sounds exciting, new, nice, or whatever, it does not mean it is correct, it must agree with the Bible.  For what people teach us to be good and helpful, it has to agree with the Bible and biblical principles.

What Do You Do With It?

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life - "
1 John 1:1 (NKJV)

It is one thing to have something, but it is another thing to make use of what you have.  You might own a nice car, but never drive it, you could have some music and never listen to it, or you could have food in your home and never eat it.  Just the fact that you have something, or you have seen something, does not mean it is a part of your life or that it is of any benefit to you.  It would be strange to have something useful and then just put it on a shelf or ignore it.

The Apostle John was one of the twelve disciples who was with Jesus during His earthly ministry.  John did not just have a relationship with Jesus from a distance, John spent time with Jesus and did things with Him.  John had a personal relationship with Jesus, and John followed Him and did the things that Jesus told him to do.  John did not just know about Jesus or spend some time near Him, John had a living relationship with Jesus that was a vital part of his life.

In 1 John 1:1, John talks about his relationship with Jesus saying that Jesus was someone he heard about, he had seen, he gave his attention to, and he had direct contact with.  John did not just have knowledge about Jesus from some textbook, John was in a living relationship with Jesus.  Our relationship with Jesus, with God, and everything Jesus provided for us, is not just something we should have on a shelf, so to speak, or something we only deal with on Sundays or in an emergency, it needs to be an active, living part of our life.

Filled With What?

"For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;"
Colossians 1:9-10 (NKJV)

If you had a container of some kind, you could fill it with whatever you wanted to.  If you had a bottle, a box, or something similar, the space in this object could be filled with one thing, or a mixture of things.  For example, you could fill a bottle with water, milk, or some other liquid.  If you had a bottle already filled with water, you could also add milk to that, and that bottle would still be full, but it would no longer just be filled with water.  Once you fill the bottle with something, it will be full.

In Colossians 1, Paul prayed that the believers in Colosse would be filled with the knowledge of God's will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.  In Colossians 1:10-11, Paul talked about the results of being filled with the knowledge of God's will: a life that is worthy of God, fully pleasing God, being fruitful in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God, and being strengthened with all might by His power.  If we have a mixture of God's will, our will, and something else, will we have the results Paul prayed about?

If we are filled with the knowledge of God's will, as Paul prayed for the believers in Colossians 1:9, then we would not really have room to be filled with something else.  Paul prayed that these believers would be filled with the knowledge of God's will, not that the knowledge of God's will would just be an optional addition to their own will.  God wants us to know His will and to live the life He has planned for us, but the only way to do that is to know and be filled with the knowledge of God's will, and then do His will.

That Is Not A Real Lion

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."
1 Peter 5:8-9 (NKJV)

Recently, I was out taking a walk, and as I went by some trees, some birds came flying out making a lot of noise.  My guess was that they had a nest nearby and they did not like me getting too close to their nest.  While this chirping that the birds were making was a bit annoying, it only lasted for a minute or so as I walked by, and there was never any real danger.  The birds were not going to swoop down and carry me away or really hurt me somehow.  The noise they were making was just to try and scare me away, but they could not do me any real harm.

The Bible makes it clear that we have an enemy, the devil, who will do everything he can to keep us away from God's Word and the plan of God for our lives.  The Bible also makes it very clear that Jesus defeated the devil, and while the devil is still out there, he is actually powerless to destroy us, because Jesus stripped him of his power.  The devil still exists, and although he cannot really harm us, he will make as much commotion in our life as he can to try and get us off course.

Some Christians fail to understand the point that Peter makes in 1 Peter 5:8-9, that while the devil walks about as a roaring lion, he is not a real lion.  The devil would like us to believe he is big and powerful and ready to destroy us.  He will "roar" by bringing thoughts of defeat and failure to our mind, but, as Peter tells us, we need to resist the devil and stay firmly rooted in God's Word.  As we stand in faith on God's Word, knowing that Jesus won the victory for us over the devil, we can resist the devil and not allow his work to hinder us in our walk with God.

What Do You Pay Attention To?

"Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,"
1 Timothy 4:1 (NKJV)

If you were with a group of people, visiting a historic site or some other attraction, you might talk about what you were looking at, and that could be different things for different people.  For example, if you were at the Rhine River, some people might talk about the river itself, while others talked about a castle or some other building on the river.  If you were at a zoo, different people would likely talk about different animals.  In each case, the river, the buildings, and the animals were all always there, but some people choose to focus on them, and some do not.

What we pay attention to does not just exist when we pay attention to it, but until we pay attention to it, it is not relevant to us.  Paul told Timothy to pay attention to some things, but to not pay attention to others.  There are many good and bad things around us, but we choose what to focus on.  In 2 Peter 2:1, Peter said that just like there were false prophets among God's people in the past, there will be false teachers among God's people today.  The wrong kind of teaching is out there, but we do not have to pay attention to it.  

In 1 Timothy 4:1, we are told that in the latter times, some will depart from the faith.  Why would people do this?  We are told that this will happen because people paid attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons.  These seducing spirits and false doctrines were always there, the problem was that people paid attention to them instead of paying attention to God's Word.  People get deceived and in trouble because they focus on and pay attention to the wrong things.  What we pay attention to is important in so many ways; we need to pay attention to God's Word.

Well, That Works For Me

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others."
Philippians 2:3-4 (NKJV)

If something works well for us, does it also work well for other people?  If we are benefited by something, are other people benefited by it as well?  While we do need to pay attention to what is necessary for our own lives, also paying attention to what is helpful for others is definitely a good thing.  So many people live self-centered lives, and what they do is mainly in relation to their own well-being and how things work for them.  While this is a natural human tendency, and people generally tend to be selfish, this is not a good way to live.

Paul wrote to the Philippians to be like-minded, to not give in to selfish ambition, to esteem others better than themselves, and to look out for the interests of others.  This kind of thinking goes against the way of the world, where most people seem to only be interested in what works for them in their life.  The point is not just that we need to be nice and considerate to other people, but there is a spiritual principle here.  What may work well for us, and what we might understand, may not work well or be understandable for others.

As Paul told the Philippians, we need to pay attention to the interests of others and what works well for them.  When we look at Jesus, and the life He lived, we never see a time where Jesus insisted on His own way or what He wanted.  Jesus was not focused on His own interests and what might work well for Him or benefit Him, but Jesus looked for what was best for others.  Jesus looked for ways to help people, to teach people what He knew, and to help people understand spiritual truths that He understood.  This is what Jesus did, and it is something we should do too.

Dietary Restrictions?

"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
I fed you with milk and not solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;"
1 Corinthians 3:1-2 (NKJV)

If you are selecting a meal for an airplane flight, ordering some food in a restaurant, or if you are planning a meal for other people, the issue of dietary restrictions may come up.  Some people have allergies to certain things, so there are some foods that they should not eat.  But this is not the same as someone who just refuses to eat something, or they have a dislike for something.  Sometimes what someone eats, or will not eat, is not a matter of a dietary restriction, but it is simply a personal preference, and there is a big difference.

When Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, he said that he could not feed them (teach them) some things, because they were so carnal.  But it is good to see how in this situation Paul still continued to feed the believers the "milk of the Word", which is what they were able to receive.  It was not that Paul was unwilling to teach some things to the believers in Corinth, but there were some things Paul was not able to teach them, because they were not ready to receive it.

God has given us His Word to help us grow spiritually, to see who we are in Christ, and learn what belongs to us because of Jesus.  We do not want to be like the people in Corinth who were too carnal to receive some of the teaching that Paul had, but we want to continually develop spiritually and feed on all of God's Word.  We do not need any spiritual dietary restrictions with God's Word, there is no part of it that should be avoided, because God's Word is good for us and we should willingly receive all of it.

Walking In Love - Fulfilling Requirements

"Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law."
Romans 13:8 (NKJV)

To fulfill, in the sense of a contract or obligation, means to meet all of the necessary requirements.  If you signed a contract to rent an apartment for a year, to fulfill that contract you would then need to rent the apartment for a year.  If you were obligated in that rental contract to pay the rent by the first day of each month, then doing that is what would be necessary in order to fulfill that obligation.  If you did not meet the requirements, or did not do what was necessary, you would not have fulfilled the contract or obligation.

In what we call the Old Testament, God gave the Law to Israel to show them what He required from them as His people, to live the life that they should live.  No person was able to fulfill the Law, until Jesus came and fulfilled it for us.  Today, as New Testament believers, we are not under the Law or the requirements of the Law.  But, the principles of what is found in the Law are still valid for us today.  The New Testament says that if we are led by the Holy Spirit we are not under the Law and that by walking in love we fulfill the Law.

While we no longer live under the Law, we still want to do what is right and not violate any of God's Commandments that were given to show us the right way to live, and we can do this by walking in love.  If we live a life demonstrating the love of God, if we are walking in love towards others, and we always respond with the love of God, we will never violate any of God's commandments.  Love never fails, and living a life of walking in the love of God not only fulfills the requirements of the Law, but it is the best way to live.

Is That Your Fault?

"Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God.
And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart.  So he prospered.
After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah, he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself."
2 Chronicles 31:20 - 32:1 (NKJV)

Newtons' third law of motion says that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  This is the same as the idea of cause and effect, saying that something happened because something else prompted that thing to happen.  While this is true, there still has to be some first action to cause a reaction or effect.  Someone or something has to first do something to cause the reaction or effect.  Just because something happens does not always mean something else happened first.

In the Old Testament, we can read about King Hezekiah, and how he was a good king who served God.  But, as we see in 2 Chronicles, King Hezekiah did everything correctly and was still attacked by an enemy.  We can see stories of different kings and people in the Bible who made a mistake or disobeyed God, and they had a problem.  But we can also see examples in the Bible, like the story of King Hezekiah, where people did everything right, and they still had problems.

When something bad happens, is it always our fault?  We need to realize that problems will always happen in this world, even if we do everything right.  King Hezekiah was faithful to God and he was still attacked.  Paul preached the Gospel and people tried to kill him.  Jesus did the will of God and was still persecuted.  When we have a problem, we should not just try to blame ourselves, or even other people.  Instead, we need to look into God's Word and follow the direction of the Holy Spirit to see how to successfully deal with the problem.

What Are You Called?

"Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
For with God nothing will be impossible."
Luke 1:36-37 (NKJV)

A call sign is a name that is given to someone to uniquely identify them, but it is not someone's actual name.  Call signs are said to have originated around the time of WW II, and while they are most often used in the military, people outside the military use nicknames in a similar way.  Usually a call sign, a nickname, what someone is called, is based on something that the person did, some physical characteristic, where they are from, or something else unique to that person that is used to identify them.

In Luke 1, we read about Zacharias, who was a priest, married to a woman named Elizabeth, and they had no children.  One day, an angel appeared to Zacharias and told him that his prayers had been heard and that Elisabeth would have a baby.  This was quite a surprise to Zacharias, as the Bible describes him and Elisabeth as "well advanced in years", but God said they would have a baby.  Up to this time, Elisabeth had been called "barren" because she had no children, but God changed her situation, and what she would be called.

After the angel told Mary that she would have a baby, Jesus, the angel said that Mary's cousin Elisabeth was also going to have a baby.  Elisabeth was called "barren", because she had no children.  But with God all things are possible, and Elisabeth would no longer be called barren, but mother.  No matter what we have been called in the past, with God our name can change.  We can go from being called failure to success, from weak to strong, and from depressed to joyful.  We need to look into God's Word and see what God calls us, and be sure that is what we call ourselves.

Pleasant Words, Or Poison Words?

"Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.
But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren."
Acts 14:1-2 (NKJV)

What we do can cause a reaction, either positive or negative.  For example, if you went outside without an umbrella when it is raining, you would get wet.  If you went outside without a jacket in the wintertime, you would be cold.  In the same way, if you had an umbrella with you in the rain you would not get wet, and if you wore a jacket in the wintertime you would not be cold.  The point is that what happens in different situations depends on what we do, or do not do; our actions can help to create the results.

Words are powerful.  Words are containers that carry our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs to others.  The Book of Proverbs has a lot to say about our words, and we find this idea of the value of our words throughout the Bible.  The words we say can have a positive influence on people, or they can have a negative influence on them.  In James 3, it compares our tongue to the rudder on a ship that sets the course for where that ship is going to go.  Our tongue, our words, can do the same thing, for ourselves and others.

In Acts 14, Paul and his group were preaching the Gospel.  What they said influenced a great multitude of people to believe the Gospel message.  But there were some unbelieving Jews who stirred up the people and "poisoned their minds against the brethren".  Before long, Paul and his group had to leave the city because of the opposition.  Our words can help people believe the truth, or our words can cause people to be poisoned towards something.  The words we say can have a positive influence on people, or they can have a negative influence on them.

Oops, I Accidentally Succeeded!

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
Joshua 1:8 (NKJV)

Have you ever started to do something that you were not very confident about, but then you ended up doing it right?  While that can happen, most of the time when we get something right and succeed it is because what we did was intentional.  If we want to do something right, we usually need to have some idea about what should be done, and a plan about how to do it.  People who are successful are not aimlessly going about their business, but they are diligently working with a purpose and doing the things that will bring them success.

When Joshua became the leader of Israel, it was a big thing.  Not only was Joshua taking over for Moses, who had successfully led the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt and to the Promised Land, but now Joshua was in charge of a nation of people, with the responsibility of leading those people into the fulfillment of God's plan for them, that was a huge responsibility!  But God was not just sending Joshua out on his own, God gave Joshua a plan on how to succeed in what he needed to do.

In Joshua 1:8, God gave Joshua a plan for success: speak the Word, meditate in the Word, and do the Word.  This is the plan that worked for Joshua, and it will work for us too.  It was not a matter of Joshua trying something, hoping it would succeed, and if it worked that would be great, God told Joshua exactly what to do.  God is giving us the same plan today, so we do not have to just hope for success, and be surprised when it happens.  Our success with God can, and should be, intentional, not accidental.

The Value Of Good Relationships

"And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.
But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles.  And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out."
Acts 9:26-28 (NKJV)

Relationships are valuable, and with the right relationships we can accomplish great things.  We all have some relationships: relationships with people we work with, relationships with people in our church, relationships with people where we live, and relationships with people in our family.  Good relationships help us grow and develop, and we can even learn things from negative relationships that we have had, although we need to cultivate the good relationships and avoid the bad ones.

Relationships are important, because they are ways for us to connect with others who we can help, and who can also help us.  Relationships are a key in our life, because relationships can benefit us in the areas of growing and developing in our personal and spiritual lives.  Relationships are important for several reasons, and we see the value of relationships in many places in the Bible.  A great example of the benefits of good relationships is seen in the life of the Apostle Paul in Acts 9.

In Acts 9, Saul, who later became known as the Apostle Paul, wanted to join the disciples, but they were afraid of him and did not trust him.  Paul was not able to make the connection himself, but then another disciple, Barnabas, helped connect Paul with the disciples.  Paul had the right intentions, but was unsuccessful in what he tried to do, until someone else helped him bridge the gap.  We need to develop the relationships we have and be open to new relationships, because sometimes a relationship will help us connect to someone, or something else, that is vital to God's plan in our life.

Success Comes From Following Directions

"For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."
And they did so, and made them all sit down.
Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.
So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them."
Luke 9:14-17 (NKJV)

Not following directions is something that is fairly common with many people.  Not in the sense that someone will not listen to reason, but very often people will ignore instructions on how to build or operate something that they have purchased, because they believe they already know how to do what needs to be done.  While it is true that sometimes we can figure things out for ourselves, to be sure we successfully do what needs to be done, we should always follow directions.

In Luke 9, we read about the feeding of the 5,000, and we can see that Jesus took what was available, what the disciples had, and Jesus used that to meet the need and feed the people.  We can see that Jesus cared about helping the people, and how the need was met with everyone not only eating but being filled.  But there is something in the story that we may not recognize as one of the keys to a successful outcome; the disciples precisely followed the directions of Jesus.

When Jesus fed the 5,000, as we see in Luke 9, Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups of 50.  But what if they thought they had a better idea and they said that groups of 25 or 30 are fine, would they have been successful?  While there is no way to know for certain, and there are times the direction God gives us may seem unimportant, we do know that to be successful we need to follow the directions that God gives us through His Word and by the Holy Spirit.  We need to listen to God and follow His directions to have success in whatever we do.

Look At This, But Not At That

"Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel.  And Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these.".
And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?"  Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep."  And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him.  For we will not sit down till he comes here."
1 Samuel 16:10-11 (NKJV)

Every day we are bombarded with information; some of it is information that we are looking for and some of it comes to us without our directly seeking it.  For example, we may be watching a television show, and then a commercial comes on.  We wanted to see the television show, but not necessarily what was on the commercial.  This same thing happens in social media, movies, television shows, and the news that we see.  There are things some people want us to see and hear, and other things that they do not.

God told Samuel to go to Jesse's house in Bethlehem to find the next king of Israel, but God did not tell Samuel specifically who the next king was going to be.  When Samuel arrived, he saw the oldest son Eliab and Samuel thought Eliab was the perfect choice, but Eliab was not God's choice.  What happened next is that Jesse brought out seven of his sons for Samuel to look at, but Jesse left out his youngest son, David, who was to be the next king.  Jesse wanted Samuel to look at some of his sons, but not all of them.

When Samuel arrived at Jessie's house to find the new king, Jesse only presented seven of his eight sons for Samuel to consider to be the king.  This same kind of thing still happens today; society, other people, and even the devil have things they want us to see and look at.  Just because the world or other people tell us to "look at this," and do something only based on what we have been shown, we need to listen to God to help us see what is right and to base what we do and believe on God's guidance, not just on what people have shown us.

Can You Prove That?

"And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."
Mark 16:15-16 (NKJV)

Often when people are trying to make a point about something, they will cite facts to try and prove to whoever they are talking to that what they are saying is true.  Many people will spend time debating about things, using different facts or personal experience in an attempt to prove their point.  Usually this is done with good intentions, where one person or group is trying to help someone understand that what has been said is true, based on the facts that were given.

After Jesus rose from the dead, He told His disciples to take the message of His triumph over sin and death to the whole world.  The Gospel, which means good news, is something that everyone should hear.  We should make a good presentation of the Gospel, and share the truth in a way that will persuade people to receive Jesus.  But once someone hears the Gospel, that person needs to take a step of faith and believe the message about Jesus, and receive Him as their personal Savior and Lord.

While Jesus said we need to preach the Gospel so that people would believe, Jesus never said that our job was to prove that the message is true.  It does not say that just because someone has seen a lot of evidence that this person would be saved; and this same principle applies to everything in the Bible.  It is one thing to hear the truth, but once we hear the truth, we must accept it, believe it, and act on it.  The key is that we believe and act on what we have heard, not just that someone has proven something to us.

Just Like He Said

"saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.
And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"
So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them."
Luke 19:30-32 (NKJV)

It is good when you know someone you can trust, and when they tell you something, you have confidence in what they said being accurate and trustworthy.  But it is unfortunate that there are some people you cannot rely on and you cannot always trust what they say.  If someone you did not trust told you something, you might be hesitant to act on what they said.  But when you really trust someone, and you know you can rely on what they say, then it is easy to do things based on what that person told you.

Luke 19 tells the story of Jesus instructing His disciples to go and get the donkey's colt that He then used to ride into Jerusalem.  What Jesus said was a bit unusual, but the disciples knew that Jesus could be trusted, so they acted on what He said, and everything worked out according to what Jesus had told them.  These verses in Luke 19 are great verses about following God and also how He will provide for us.  We can always trust God's guidance and know for certain that things will work out for us just as He said.

When we follow God's direction, it will always be just as God said it would be.  If God said we need to do something or go somewhere, we can be sure that everything is going to work out for us just the way that God said it would.  For provision in our life, for direction, for healing, and anything else that God has said in His Word, we can always be confident that it will be just as God said it would be.  Whatever God has said is true and reliable, and we can do what He says, knowing that things will always be as He said they would be.

Peace On The Path

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
Psalm 119:105 (NKJV)

Normally when you are driving from one place to another, you have an idea of where you are going.  You may have checked a map to see the route you need to take, and you might use some GPS type system to help guide you along your way.  But once you do that, there is no question of if the place you are traveling to exists and, unless something unusual is going on, you would not be concerned if you are going to make it to your destination, because once your course is set you are no longer concerned about the trip, you are just traveling to your destination.

Christians are often not sure what God's will is for their life in general, and sometimes they have specific questions about some certain direction in their life, or how to do something.  That is one part of the process of being led by the Holy Spirit and doing the will of God.  But there is another element in this that many Christians struggle with, and that is having peace on the path they are on in the will of God.  We can have confidence as we trust God to direct us, and we never have to worry that God will let us down as we follow Him. 

As Psalm 119:105 tells us, God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.  We can always find the general will of God for our life in God's Word, and the Holy Spirit will also lead us into the will God for our life.  But once we know the direction God wants us to go, we need to stop being anxious about what to do and just do it.  When we know the will of God for our life, we can have peace knowing that God is with us and that He will help us on our way.  God wants us to have peace on our path in life and in doing His will.

What Will Your Response Be?

"And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.  When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  And His disciples heard it."
Mark 11:13-14 (NKJV)

Normally when you are in a conversation with someone, you and the other person will be talking back and forth, with one of you speaking and then the other person responding.  It would not be a conversation if only one person spoke, and it would be strange for someone to speak to another person and the second person never said anything.  Usually, when someone talks to you, you then give a response.  In fact, if you did not respond to something that was said, then it could be implied that you agree with what was said.

Many Christians know the story of Jesus and the fig tree and how Jesus came to the fig tree but did not find any figs.  The fig tree had leaves, which would normally indicate that there were also figs on the tree, but there were no figs.  As it says in Mark 11:14, Jesus responded to the fig tree and He said something.  The word used here for respond is translated as answer in other translations of the Bible, and this word can mean to answer a question or to speak after something else is said.

In Mark 11, Jesus came to the fig tree that had leaves but no figs.  You could say it this way, the tree spoke by having leaves but no figs, and Jesus responded by cursing the tree.  In our everyday life, things are speaking to us.  Our body can speak to us, our finances can speak to us, other people, and different situations can speak to us.  The question is, how are we going to respond?  The way we respond, what we say, is very important.  No matter what situation we face, we need to respond in faith with God's Word, and not with our feelings, opinions, or other ideas.

A Bible Usage Report?

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
Joshua 1:8 (NKJV)

Every week, my phone and my tablet produce a usage report telling me what apps I used the most in the past week.  From this usage report, I can see where I have been spending time while I was using my phone and my tablet.  Most of the time, I am not surprised with the app usage, because I know what I had been doing for the past week with my phone and tablet.  But sometimes I am a bit surprised that I have used an app as much as I did, and sometimes the usage report shows me that I used an app less than I thought I had.

When Joshua became the leader of Israel, God told Joshua how to be successful.  God told Joshua to keep the Law in his mouth and meditate in it day and night.  In terms of New Testament believers, we would say that it is necessary to meditate on and speak God's Word, think about it, and make it a part of our life, every day.  But, while this is God's plan for success in everything He directs us to do, the real question is if we are actually doing this, day and night, or if it is just an occasional thing?

Just like God told Joshua, God's Word needs to be a part of our life, every day, and every night, all of the time.  For some Christians, God's Word is a part of their life on Sunday, or in an emergency.  The quantity of time we spend with God's Word is not the point, but we all need to have a regular time in God's Word, every day, and make it a vital part of our life.  If we had some kind of a Bible usage report that we saw every week, would we be pleasantly surprised at how much time we devoted to God's Word, or shocked at how little it is a part of our life?

Praying For Our Leaders

"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence."
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NKJV)

One thing I have noticed is that it is very easy to get people to do what they are already interested in doing.  While that is a fairly obvious statement, there is a deeper issue that it highlights: people will do what they really want to do, even if it is not the best thing to do.  It is easy for people to be interested in doing things they like, and dislike what they are not in favor of.  Again, this is quite obvious.  But the real issue is that we need to be willing to do what is right and good, whether we like it or not and whether we are interested in it or not.

The Apostle Paul wrote many things by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to help believers live the life that God has called us to live.  While there are many things that are very simple and easy for believers to focus on doing, there are some things that Christians do not get too excited about; one of these things is praying for our leaders.  In 1 Timothy 2, Paul said that we need to pray for our leaders so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.  If we are not praying for our leaders, then we have a problem.

If we pray for our leaders, as Paul talked about in 1 Timothy 2, then we are following scriptural guidelines.  Paul did not say to only pray for our leaders if we like them and agree with them, or complain about our leaders if they do not do what we want; Paul said that praying for our leaders was what we need to do.  One thing we can pray about for our leaders is for them to make good decisions that promote righteousness and the preaching of the Gospel.  We all need to pray for our natural and spiritual leaders, it is the guidance we receive from God's Word, and it is the right thing to do.

Knowing The Details

"But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance,
persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra - what persecutions I endured.  And out of them all the Lord delivered me"
2 Timothy 3:10-11 (NKJV)

When we learn about something, a place, an event, or even a person, there can be a lot of details to learn about it.  We might know that Berlin is a city in Germany, but there are a lot more things than that to learn about Berlin.  We might know about a man landing on the moon, but do we know when it happened or who was involved?  We might know about a person, a personal friend or a public figure, but how much do we really know about them?  If we really want to have a good understanding of something, we need to know all the details.

The majority of Christians know who the Apostle Paul is.  They might know he was formerly a Pharisee who converted to Christianity and that Paul started churches and wrote many letters.  But there are many more things we can learn about the Apostle Paul than just those few facts.  There were several people who traveled with Paul and spent time with him, including Timothy, Titus, and Luke.  How well did these people know Paul?  We can see that Paul lived a life that allowed others to get to know him and how he lived.

In 2 Timothy 3:10-11, Paul said Timothy had carefully followed Paul's doctrine, manner of life, purpose. faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, and afflictions.  These were not things that Timothy had only heard about; Timothy knew all the details himself.  Paul was not living a secluded life where no one really knew him or what he was doing.  Paul worked alongside other people and gave them a living example of a godly life and how to serve God.  We too need to give a detailed living example of a godly life that others can learn from.

Who Do You To Listen To

"And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!"
Is this not the Son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him."
Mark 6:2-3 (NKJV)

Sometimes when we accomplish something, or if we do something that people did not expect us to be able to do, people might be impressed by what we did, but it can also be that people will criticize us.  If this happens, then we have a choice, will we listen to those people who praise or criticize us, or will we continue to do what we are doing?  If we are doing what is right, then we should not allow the praise or criticism from anyone to stop us from doing what we need to do.

Although Jesus is the Son of God, and He did the will of God, not everyone was happy with Jesus and pleased with what He did.  In Mark 6, when people heard Jesus teach in the synagogue, they wondered how He could teach the way He did, and people were offended by Jesus and His teaching.  People talked about the natural background of Jesus in a way that seemed to say, "We know His family, we know Him, who does He think He is?", but this did not matter to Jesus, He just kept doing the will of God.

Jesus knew Who He was, He knew the will of God for His life, so Jesus did not allow the criticism, or the praise of people to change what He was doing.  Jesus never changed His teaching to please His critics; Jesus taught the truth from Scripture, even when people did not like it.  We need to be the same way, and know who we are in Christ, what God has called us to do, and follow the direction of the Holy Spirit.  Then we need to keep doing what God has said, no matter what others say about it; we need to know Who we should listen to.

All Things, Or Just A Few Things?

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

Normally, when people set goals, they will do everything they can to achieve that goal.  It is not hard to get someone to do something that they are highly motivated to do, no matter how difficult that thing might be.  But, if you ask someone to do something that they are not interested in, or something they do not enjoy, then that is a different story, even if you offer to assist them in doing what needs to be done.  It is possible for that person to do the thing; they are just not willing to do it.

There are many Christians who like Philippians 4:13 where it talks about how we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, but I sometimes wonder if people really believe that, because it sometimes depends on the circumstance and situation in what they are doing.  Christians will talk about doing all things through Christ when it is something they are already interested in doing.  But does Philippians 4:13 only apply to God helping us do the things we already want to do?

It is not hard to talk about doing all things through Christ when we are talking about the goals and dreams we have.  But what about getting involved in something in our local church that, while we are able to do it, we do not really want to do; is that something that we then cannot do through Christ?  Do we allow our personality and our likes and dislikes to be our boundaries, or through Christ can we overcome those things to do whatever we need to do for God?  We can do all things through Christ, even if it is not our favorite thing, as long as it is part of God's plan for our life.

You Control It Yourself

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)

Sometimes while I am out walking or running, I see people who are walking their dog.  But then, something happens where the dog gets upset or a little excited and gets out of control.  What is amusing to me is that the people with the dog act surprised that their dog is acting like a dog!  They sometimes look around as if they do not know what to do, or that maybe someone else needs to do something, but the person with the dog just needs to take care of their own dog; I often think to myself, it is your dog, you need to control it yourself.

We are a three part being: spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23).  When we are born again, we become a new creation in Christ, spiritually.  But even though we are a new creation in Christ, we still have the same body and soul as we did before salvation, and we need to do something with our body and our soul.  In Romans 12:1-2, the Bible says that we need to present our body as a living sacrifice and renew our mind, which is a part of the soul.  The emphasis here is that we do something with our body and our soul.

It is up to us individually as believers to control our own body and renew our own mind.  While other people may help us with this, no one can do it for us.  Some people seem to think that if they get enough people praying for them, or if they get into a special meeting, or if someone lays hands on them, everything will be fine.  But the Bible clearly tells us that we have to control ourselves.  Through learning what the Bible says, and by acting on it with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can control our bodies and renew our minds.

Say No To The Yes Man

"The ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise.
He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding."
Proverbs 15:31-32 (NKJV)

The term, "Yes man", refers to someone who always seems to agree with whatever another person is saying.  Sometimes in a business, a boss or leader will only want to have people around them who agree with and support whatever they say, they want a yes man.  But no good boss or leader just wants people who agree with everything they say, without any opportunity for input from any other point of view.  No one knows everything, and having other people who can bring wise and constructive input to us is always helpful.

No one does everything right, and wise people look for ways to improve what they are doing.  Someone who does not look for ways to improve and develop themselves is foolish.  What hurts people is not that they make a mistake, but what hurts people is their refusal to listen to input from others.  By paying attention to wisdom from others, each and every one of us can do what we do better.  This is why we need other spiritually mature believers around us to help us and give us wisdom in what we are doing.

A good question for all of us is, "who can correct us", who do we allow to speak into our life?  If we only listen to those who agree with everything we say, no matter what we say, does that mean that everything we say is right, or is it that we only allow the "yes men" to be our associates?  If we are unwilling to listen to wise input from others, we are in danger of having serious problems.  We do not want to be the kind of people who think we know everything and will not listen to others; we need to be wise and receive instruction from others.